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I used to really work at creating mix tapes, because there was so much good music that I wanted to get out to my friends. If they wanted to be on the list, they would get a tape; if they wanted off the list, they would not get one. I bought a good tape copying deck and "mastered" my mixes onto the highest quality cassettes.
Everybody on the list was really excited about it because it was a time when I was really paying attention and finding a lot of new bands that were awesome that nobody could hear unless I made a mix tape. I was sending out about 15 tapes every 6 months.
3-4 years previous, I had run my college's radio station, and I saw what was going on. Smaller labels pushing smaller bands would desperately PLEAD for this kind of attention, and would give it away routinely in order to promote. So I knew that what I was doing was moral. There was no question about it. My efforts probably sold a few hundred albums that otherwise wouldn't have been bought at all. Everyone in the chain, the artists, the management, the labels, and most of all the listeners, were served and benefitted from the arrangement.
You want a challenge: build this same thing, but only use unsigned artists that are very very good. It will take longer to make the CD because those acts have to be hunted down. 9 out of 10 minor label acts are terrible. But the great ones do exist. Every good major label act has a few minor label releases in their catalogue... and every good major label act will eventually be dropped, and if they continue on, they will release on minor labels.
And nobody will take you to court for doing this; instead they'll kiss you all over for doing it, and probably help you figure out how to make it all legal anyway, if you'll only keep promoting their music.
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